MLB Postseason on DISH: Matchups, Schedule and More
October baseball is here, and the 2026 bracket set up a memorable one. The Philadelphia Phillies grabbed the National League's final Wild Card spot on the last day of the regular season, the Houston Astros climbed from fourth place to win the American League West, and the Chicago White Sox turned a lost decade into a playoff berth as the AL's sixth seed. 12 teams remain, four best-of-three Wild Card Series start it all, and the road ends at the World Series. The first pitch is Tuesday, September 29, and whether you follow one team or all 12, you can follow the 2026 MLB Postseason with DISH from the first pitch to the last out — the two NBC Wild Card series, then every game from the Division Series on.
How to watch the MLB Postseason with DISH
The good news for baseball fans: DISH has every network the Postseason runs on. The Wild Card Series is split between NBC (two series, watchable with DISH) and Peacock and NBCSN (two series, not on DISH). From there, the Division Series and League Championship Series move to TBS, truTV, FOX, and FS1, and the World Series lands on FOX. String those together and you can follow your team from the first pitch in the Wild Card round to the last out of the Fall Classic.
Here is round by round coverage.
Wild Card Series (NBC and streaming): Two of the four series air on NBC and are watchable with DISH in America's Top 120: Philadelphia Phillies at Atlanta Braves and Boston Red Sox at New York Yankees. The other two — Chicago White Sox at Houston Astros and Chicago Cubs at San Diego Padres — air on Peacock and NBCSN, and are not available with DISH.
Division Series and League Championship Series (TBS, truTV, FOX, FS1): The American League rounds run on TBS and truTV, and the National League rounds run on FOX and FS1 — all carried in America's Top 120, so the same package that gets you the Wild Card round carries these games too.
World Series (FOX): The Fall Classic returns to FOX, available in all DISH packages.
2026 MLB Wild Card schedule
All four Wild Card Series run Tuesday, September 29 through Thursday, October 1, each a best-of-three. Game 1 windows are listed below. Game 2 repeats the same window the next day, and Game 3, if needed, follows on Thursday. The two NBC series are watchable with DISH; the two that air on Peacock and NBCSN are not available with DISH. Each game's availability is noted below.
Chicago White Sox at Houston Astros
Airs on Peacock and NBCSN — not available with DISH.
Game 1: Tuesday, September 29, 5PM ET
Game 2: Wednesday, September 30, 5PM ET
Game 3 (if necessary): Thursday, October 1
Boston Red Sox at New York Yankees
Airs on NBC — watch with DISH in America's Top 120.
Game 1: Tuesday, September 29, 8PM ET
Game 2: Wednesday, September 30, 8PM ET
Game 3 (if necessary): Thursday, October 1, 8PM ET
Philadelphia Phillies at Atlanta Braves
Airs on NBC — watch with DISH in America's Top 120.
Game 1: Tuesday, September 29, 2PM ET
Game 2: Wednesday, September 30, 2PM ET
Game 3 (if necessary): Thursday, October 1, 2PM ET
Chicago Cubs at San Diego Padres
Airs on Peacock and NBCSN — not available with DISH.
Game 1: Tuesday, September 29, 10PM ET
Game 2: Wednesday, September 30, 10PM ET
Game 3 (if necessary): Thursday, October 1
2026 MLB Wild Card preview
Chicago White Sox at Houston Astros
Few teams have traveled a stranger road to October than the Chicago White Sox, who reached the Postseason as the American League's sixth seed a year after one of the worst seasons in franchise memory. Their reward is a matchup with the team that handled them all year: the Houston Astros went 5-2 against Chicago in 2026 and enter as the third seed after clawing back from fourth place in the AL West by late June. Houston's centerpiece is Yordan Alvarez, the American League MVP frontrunner, who finished the regular season on a tear: a .400 average, four home runs, and a 1.300 OPS over his final 11 games, on top of a full-season line of 42 homers and a 1.036 OPS. His .944 OPS across 60 career playoff games is the kind of track record that tilts a short series. Houston's rotation steadied down the stretch, and the Astros will lean on that veteran poise against a lineup seeing October for the first time.
Chicago's chances rest on a young batting order. Rookie standout Munetaka Murakami (35 home runs) and Colson Montgomery (31) can win a game with one swing, but both cooled sharply late in the year, each hitting below .160 after August 1. If the White Sox settle in, they have the power to trade blows.
Why the Astros will win: Alvarez is the best hitter in the series by a wide margin, and Houston's Postseason experience dwarfs a first-time October roster.
Why the White Sox will win: Murakami and Montgomery only need one hot week, and this team has already surprised the league once.
Boston Red Sox at New York Yankees
Baseball's oldest rivalry gets an October stage, and it is a rematch. The New York Yankees eliminated the Boston Red Sox in the 2025 Wild Card round, and the two have now met seven times in the Postseason. New York won the season series 7-6, including a 4-2 edge at Yankee Stadium, which hosts all three games. The 2026 rivalry split neatly in two: the Yankees started strong, Boston answered with a June sweep and a 15-game winning streak, and New York closed the year by taking three of four in late August and outscoring Boston 26-9 on the strength of the long ball. Both staffs rank among the top three in the American League in team ERA, so the starting pitching will decide whether this turns into a slugfest or a duel.
The wild card here is Aaron Judge. The Yankees captain missed 84 games with a rib injury over the summer, returned briefly, and then landed back on the injured list with a calf strain. He intends to play, though at what capacity no one knows. Even at less than full strength, Judge changes the shape of the New York lineup, and he answered years of Postseason questions in 2025 by hitting .500 across seven games.
Why the Yankees will win: home-field in the Bronx, a top-three team ERA, and a Judge who can swing a series even when hobbled.
Why the Red Sox will win: they already swept four games in the Bronx during that summer streak, and their pitching matches New York's, so the first big swing could tip the series.
Philadelphia Phillies at Atlanta Braves
The Philadelphia Phillies have owned this rivalry in October, and now they meet an Atlanta Braves team that dominated the regular-season version, going 9-4 head-to-head on the way to a comfortable National League East title and the third seed. History still favors Philadelphia: these teams have met three times in the Postseason, and all three went the Phillies' way, including the 2022 and 2023 upsets when Philadelphia knocked out a division-winning Atlanta club. The 2022 run reached the World Series.
Pitching health is the story. Philadelphia's rotation is scrambled. Ace Zack Wheeler was pressed into the regular-season finale to clinch the berth and will not be fully rested, Jesus Luzardo is just back from a shoulder problem with an uncertain workload, and that leaves Cristopher Sanchez, rookie Andrew Painter, and veteran Aaron Nola to fill out the staff. The bullpen has struggled badly, posting the worst ERA in the majors since September 1. Atlanta counters with Chris Sale, the All-Star left-hander who turned in a 2.16 ERA and owns a strong track record against Philadelphia's left-handed sluggers Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber.
Why the Braves will win: a rested Sale leading a healthier rotation against a patchwork Phillies staff.
Why the Phillies will win: Postseason history against Atlanta, and a lineup deep enough to outscore a bullpen game if Wheeler can steal a start.
Chicago Cubs at San Diego Padres
This is a rematch of the 2025 National League Wild Card Series, and the Chicago Cubs come in confident. They went 5-1 against the San Diego Padres in 2026, including a 23-3 rout to close the season series. Chicago brings the National League's most productive offense, leading the league with 218 home runs and pacing the majors with a .765 OPS. The Padres, the fourth seed hosting at Petco Park, will shorten games with a deep bullpen led by Bradgley Rodriguez, Adrian Morejon, and hard-throwing closer Mason Miller. The series hinges on the San Diego rotation. Michael King and Nick Pivetta, the latter back from a lengthy injury absence, need to keep the Cubs in the ballpark long enough to hand leads to that bullpen. Chicago's own rotation is the softer spot, with a 4.27 starters' ERA that ranks in the bottom half of the majors, so runs should be available on both sides. Fernando Tatis Jr. and Jackson Merrill are heating up at the right time for San Diego.
Why the Padres will win: the strongest bullpen in the series and a Petco Park that quiets visiting bats.
Why the Cubs will win: a 5-1 head-to-head edge this season and an offense that can bury a shaky rotation early.
The teams already waiting in the Division Series
Four clubs earned first-round byes as the top two seeds in each league and are resting while the Wild Card round plays out: the Tampa Bay Rays (AL, first seed), Cleveland Guardians (AL, second seed), Milwaukee Brewers (NL, first seed), and Los Angeles Dodgers (NL, second seed). Each hosts a Wild Card survivor when the Division Series opens Saturday, October 3. The American League rounds run on TBS and truTV, and the National League rounds run on FOX and FS1, all carried in America's Top 120. From there, the League Championship Series fills mid-October, and the World Series begins Friday, October 23 on FOX.
You can follow all of it with DISH, and with the 2-Year TV Price Guarantee, the price you sign up for is the price you keep through two full Postseasons.
